Chapter Text
Ren, Albina, and Lucio sat in the infirmary, watching over Sora and Kira. The three of them hadn’t said a word since sitting down at their friends’ bedsides, too worried and exhausted to strike up a conversation. Eventually, their vigil came to an end when Hohenheim entered the room to check on the two unconscious apprentices, as well as the other people there: Marton, Alyssa, Aeng-Du, and Saude, Hohenheim had told them.
“I see they’re still sleeping.” He checked their vitals, nodding to himself. “Sora’s going to be in recovery for quite a while, possibly a few months; distortion is extremely taxing on the mind and body both. Regardless, they’re both stable. Kira ought to wake up soon.”
“Thank you,” Albina said when neither Ren nor Lucio replied.
“You’re welcome. Are the three of you certain you’re alright? It’s no trouble to treat any of your wounds.” He looked directly at Lucio as he spoke, as he was still covered in cuts and bruises; Lucio, however, just shook his head. Hohenheim shrugged and moved on to check on the other four patients, only relaxing once he’d confirmed every single one of them was seemingly improving. “Well… I thank the three of you for sitting watch—it eases my mind to know there’s someone else here.”
The three apprentices stared at him.
“Ahem. Anyway… I’ll return soon. Do any of you want something to eat?”
Another silence.
“Chatty bunch,” Hohenheim joked with a wry smile. “I’ll bring food.”
Once he was gone, Ren finally spoke: “What are we supposed to do now?”
“I don’t know,” Albina replied. “I never thought to plan for a future without the House of Spiders. Those people… they said I could become a fixer.”
“A fixer, huh?” Ren nodded, and then looked towards Lucio. “And what about you?”
“I don’t know,” Lucio replied without elaboration.
“Me either. I… don’t feel ready to take her place. It feels wrong. I’m not skilled enough yet.”
Across the room, Saude was the first to wake up. She groaned and lifted her prosthetic arm up, inspecting it carefully. When she saw the apprentices—and specifically Lucio—she couldn’t hide her shock, and propped herself up to see them better. Was she afraid Lucio had returned to cut off her other arm?
“Oh…” she glanced around. “You’re all still here.”
“Indeed,” Ren replied. “We’re waiting for our… friends to wake up.”
“I like your arm,” Albina said. “It looks a lot like my own!”
“Hah. Probably not quite as high-tech…” Saude sighed, looking over at those beside her. She laid back down as Hohenheim came into the room with a tray of food, which he handed to Lucio.
“Saude,” he said upon seeing she was awake. He crossed the room to stand by her beside, messing with the tiny screen monitoring her vitals and the IV. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Thanks for the new arm.” She flexed her fingers to show him the prosthetic worked, and Hohenheim nodded.
“Good. You’re welcome, though I cannot claim it was my own work.”
“How’s the branch? I expect it’s pretty destroyed, right?”
“Unfortunately so. The LCB is helping us clean up, but… we lost nearly all of our employees. Marton and Alyssa are the only ones left, and… it’s a miracle they’re still here. Marton especially gave me a scare, using his E.G.O. gear the way he did… it nearly burst his heart. Thank goodness I was able to bring him here as soon as I got the power back on. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t be with us now.” He sighed heavily, resting a hand on the foot of Marton’s bed. “But, we’re going to have to divert funds from the research budget for recruiting… again. After the fall of Lobotomy Corporation, nobody wants to work with abnormalities anymore, even with all the safety precautions we have in place. It’ll take months to get back to being only moderately understaffed.”
“Abnormalities?” Kira asked, who had apparently been eavesdropping for an unknown amount of time while she pretended to be asleep. “Are those the things you had my papa fighting?”
“Oh, you’re awake.” Hohenheim made his way to her bedside to check on her. “Yes, those were abnormalities.”
“They’re cool,” Kira said. “You guys just beat ‘em up every day, or what?”
“No. We work with them. It’s quite fascinating, really. Each abnormality responds to different stimuli in a unique way, and with that response, we can generate energy.”
“That sounds fun,” Albina said. “Are you a fixer?”
“Far from it.” Hohenheim backed away once he’d finished checking Kira’s vitals. “I’m a researcher.”
“Are the abnormalities where you get your strange attire from?” Albina asked. “You’re not wearing it anymore, but you were wearing a different one during our fight.”
“Indeed. My E.G.O. gear was extracted from an abnormality called Big Bird. The one I have now is from the Shock Centipede. Marton’s is from Faelantern, and Alyssa’s comes from one called Ardor Blossom Moth. E.G.O. gear extraction is a complicated yet fascinating process.” Hohenheim paused, and then glanced at the apprentices. “If you’re interested… perhaps you could intern here. We need fresh blood, after all.”
“You’re… offering us jobs?” Ren asked after a moment. “Even knowing our affiliations?”
“Well, can you be trusted to not bring harm to the LCE?” Hohenheim asked. “If you can… then your ‘affiliations’ matter not to me. We can’t afford to be picky right now, and while I can't say the same for your late Nursefathers, the lot of you seem reliable trustworthy.”
The apprentices shared glances; perhaps it was a way for them to get started in an unfamiliar world while maintaining their bonds. After all, with their Nursefathers gone, they really only had each other.
“I would like that,” Albina finally said, and Ren, Kira, and Lucio all nodded along with her.
“And Sora was already employed here,” Ren added. “She certainly liked it, from the brief summary of the place and her duties she gave me upon our return to the House of Spiders.”
“I’m glad she enjoyed it. She was a quick learner, and did good work while she was here,” Hohenheim said, although his smile was strained; after all, who enjoyed learning they’d hired a spy? “At least we won’t have to onboard her a second time, as she’s already on the payroll. Anyway… for now, I’d just ask for your assistance in rebuilding; if we cannot safely house the abnormalities, we most certainly can’t work with them. If any of you are feeling up to it, feel free to go find Miss Outis—she’s put herself in charge of assigning jobs. She’s in the main room to the left.”
“Thank you. That’s what we’ll do, then,” Ren replied, getting to his feet. Albina and Lucio followed suit; before leaving the room, though, Lucio did snag a few of the plastic-wrapped sandwiches from the tray.